Cutting apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cutting an elongated workpiece at a selected angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece. The apparatus has a power saw mounted to an upright support member which provides for horizontal movement of the power saw back and forth along a straight line across the workpiece; the upright support member being rotatable about a vertical axis to align the power saw along a desired cutting pitch angle. The upright support member has a pair of upwardly extending rocket arms rotatably mounted proximate their lower portions to the upright support, while the upper portions of the rocker arms are rotatably mounted to an upper power saw carrying member on which the power saw is, in turn, carried for pivotable movement to and away from the workpiece independent of its horizontal motion. A pivot and slot arrangement disposed intermediate the opposite rotational axes of the rocker arms cooperate with the upright support as the lower portion of the rocker arms rotate through a predetermined arcuate path so as to impart a horizontal motion to the upper power saw carrying member. A stop member is carried by one of the rocker arms and engages the other rocker arm after a predetermined amount of stroking movement to limit such horizontal movement by a predetermined amount.

United States Patent Menge 51 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] CUTTING APPARATUS [72]Inventor: Donald C. Menge, Warren, Mich. [73] Assignee: Troy SteelCorporation, Troy, Mich.

[22] Filed: Dec. 28, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 101,843

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.752,918, Aug.

15, 1968, Pat. No. 3,578,043.

Primary Examiner-Donald R. Sc'hran Attorney-Haukc, Gifford & Patalidis[57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for cutting an elongated workpiece at aselected angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.The apparatus has a power 'saw mounted to an upright support memberwhich provides for horizontal movement of the power saw back and forthalong a straight line across the workpiece; the upright support memberbeing rotatable about a vertical axis to align the power saw along adesired cutting pitch angle. The upright support member has a pair ofupwardly extending rocket arms rotatably mounted proximate-their lowerportions to the upright support, while the upper portions of the rockerarms are rotatably mounted to an upper power saw carrying member onwhich the power saw is, in turn, carried for pivotable movement to andaway from the workpiece independent of its horizontal motion. A pivotand slot arrangement disposed intermediate the opposite rotational axesof the rocker arms cooperate with the upright support as-the lowerportion of the r'ocker'arms rotate through a predetermined arcuate pathso as to impart a horizontal motion to the upper power saw carryingmember. A stop member is carried by one of the rocker arms and engagesthe other rocker arm after a predetermined amount of stroking movementto limit such horizontal movement by a predetermined amount.

14 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures P'AIE'NTEDAHB I I97 3.680.609

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, INVENTOR DONALD C.MENGE F l G-5 v 44/118 Mirna/aways currme APPARATUSCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLlCA- TIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 752,918 filedAug. 15, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,043.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to an apparatus for translating mechanical motion,and, more particularly, to an apparatus for cutting an end of anunfinished workpiece for the purpose of obtaining a ready-cut elementadapted for a predetermined use.

2. Description of the Prior Art In my above mentioned co-pendingapplication, a novel cutting apparatus is disclosed which permits anoperator to cut unfinished workpieces to a particular desired shape,such as cutting unfinished lumber to shape for use as webs, diagonals,cords, and other elements for prefabricated building trusses. Thisapparatus comprises an elongated frame having a slideway with a pair ofcarriages movably mounted thereon for movement toward and away from oneanother. A clamping device carried by the frame provides means forpositioning the unshaped workpiece in a desired horizontal positionabove the slideway. Each carriage carries an angularly adjustable powerdriven saw mounted for motion about a horizontal axis to permit back andforth movement of the power saw relative to the longitudinal axis of theworkpiece to perform the cutting operation at a desired pitch angle.

Although the apparatus described in my co-pending patent applicationfunctions in a satisfactory manner and represents a substantialimprovement over the prior art devices, the present invention providesan improved structure for imparting horizontal back and forth motion ofthe power saw in a horizontal plane while permitting angular adjustmentof the power saw relative to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece,such structure also finding use in other machines in which pivotalmotion needs to be translated into linear motion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, which will be describedsubsequently in greater detail, comprises an apparatus for cutting aworkpiece-at selected angles with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe workpiece. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus is adapted tofunction in conjunction with a longitudinal support frame provided withslides on which the cutting apparatus is mounted for slidable movementwith respect to the longitudinal axis of the frame. Normally, two suchapparatuses are mounted on the support frame for movement toward andaway from each other so that workpieces of varying longitudinal lengthsmay be accommodated. Intermediate the cutting apparatuses, the supportframe carries one or more workpiece clamping devices to permit mountingof the workpieces in a longitudinal direction between the cuttingapparatuses.

Each cutting apparatus comprises a semi-circular plate, the lowerportion of which engages the support frame slides for movement relativethereto, while the upper portion of the plate has a power saw carriagesecured thereto and adapted for rotation about the semi-circular plateon a vertical axis in a manner which was described in greater detail inmy aforementioned co-pending application.

The saw carriage includes a lower support member having a pair ofparallel, horizontally spaced rocker arms which are connected to thelower support member in such a manner as to permit relative rotationalmovement between the lower portions of the rocker arms along apredetermined arcuate path. An upper support member is attached forrelative rotational movement to the upper portion of each rocker arm andcarries the power saw at one end in a manner which permits pivotalmovement of the saw about a horizontal axis independent of thehorizontal back and forth movement of the upper support member. A pivotand slot arrangement disposed between the rocker arms and the lowersupport member cooperate with the lower rotational movement of therocker arms about its predetermined arcuate path to impart a horizontalback and forth motion upon the saw carrying upper support member topermit the power driven saw to traverse the workpiece. The arrangementpermits a straight horizontal back and forth movement of the powerdriven saw upon application of a manual push or pulling force theretoduring the cutting operation on the workpiece.

A novel stop member carried by one of the rocker arms is adapted toengage the other rOcker arm at the extreme ends of the back and forthrocking movement to limit said movement. The stop member is adjustableto permit the amount of horizontal movement of the power saw to beselectively varied to accommodate various cutting operations.

The lower support carries an index arm to travel around thesemi-circular plate which, in turn, is provided with a scale indicatingangular points around the arc of the semi-circular plates to allowpositioning of the saw carriage at any desired angular position withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece; such positiondepending upon the desired cutting pitch for a particular workpiece.

The power driven saw mounted on the saw carriages may be of theconventional circular hand-saw type driven electrically with theelectric cables from the power source mounted in overhead fashion onslidable pulleys so as not to interfere with the operation of thecutting apparatus and the free movement of the saw carriages.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved structure for translating pivotal motion into linear motion.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved structure for imparting a horizontal back and forth strokingmotion for a machine, such as a power driven saw.

Other objects, advantages and applications of the present invention willbecome readily apparent to those skilled in the art of cuttingapparatuses when the accompanying description of one embodiment of thebest mode contemplated for practicing the invention is read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2 as seen substantially alongline 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plane view of the cutting apparatus shown inFIG, 1 illustrating the extent of horizontal travel in one direction;and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plane view of the cutting apparatus shown inFIG. 1 and similar to the view of FIG. 4,' illustrating the extent ofhorizontal travel in an opposite direction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRE EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings andparticularly FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein there is illustrated a preferredembodimer t of the present invention in the form of a cutting apparatussupported for sliding engagement on a pair of parallel rails 12 securedto a longitudinal support frame 14.

The cutting apparatus 10 comprises a saw carriage l6 and a horizontallydisposed substantially semi-circular plate20, which in turn is providedon its underside with slides (not shown) engageable with the rails 12 onthe support frame 14 to enable the saw carriage 16 to move to anydesired position along the longitudinal axis of the support frame l4.'Alower'support member 22 is mounted for rotational movementabout avertical axis 18 (FIG. 2) with respect to the horizontally disposedsemi-circular plate 20 at the inner end thereof opposite its outerperiphery 2,4."Rotational movement of the lower support member 22 isprovided by means of a pivot pin 26 extending through a square pivottube .28 and into the semi-circular plate 20. The construction and themanner of operation of the pivot tube 28 and the pivot pin 26 is fullydescribed in my aforementioned patent application and a further detaileddescription of the pivot tube 28 and the pivot pin 2 herein is notnecessarY. I Y

The lower support member 22 is further comprised of a pair of parallelspaced upright portions 30 and 32 which extend from the pivot tube '28and are attached thereto by any suitable means, such as by welding. Theupright portions 30 and 32 are provided with a pair of inner plates 34and 36 attached to the inner opposing faces of the upright portions 30and 32 by any suitable means, such as by screws 38. A pair of trunnionpins 40 and 42, which are clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, arefixedly attached to the inner plates 34 .and 36 by any suitable meansfor a purpose which will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

Each of the upright portions 30 and 32 has a pair of arcuate openings 44and 46, which in the preferred embodiment are of a circular form havingarcuate axes, the radius of which extend from horizontal axes,respectively indicated by the numerals 48 and 49.

Two pairs of connecting arms 50 and 52 are respectively mounted forrotational movement on opposite outer faces of the upright portions30'and 32 about the horizontal axes 48 and 49 by means of trunnion pins54 (FIG. 3). The lower ends of each pair of connecting,

pins 50 and 52 are attached by connecting pins 56. The horizontal axisof the connecting pins 56 coincides with the arcuate axis of the opening44 and 46 and thus the pins follow an arcuate path 57 defined by theopenings 44 and 46. Each connecting pin 56 is so sized that the bottomportion thereof abuts a lower outer surface 58 in each opening 44 and 46such that any downwardly directed force, which will be described ingreater detail hereinafter, is transrnittedfrom the connecting pin 56 tothe surface 58, and thus to the upright portions 30 and 32, and notthrough the connecting arms 50 and 52. Thus, the connecting arms 50 and52 act only to guide the connecting pins 56 within the arcuate opening44 and 46 and are not adapted to act as load carrying componenm.

A pair of upright rocker arms 60 and 62 are disposed in the space 64(one only being shown in FIG. 3) defined between the opposing innerfaces of the upright portions '30 and 32; the lower portions of eachrocker arm engaging the connecting pins for relative rota-' tionalmovement about the longitudinal axis of the connecting pins 56. Sincethe connecting pins 56 .are rotatable with respect to the axes 48 and 49by means of the connecting arms 50 and 52 ,-the lower portion 5 of eachrocker arm 60 and 62 are adapted to follow the arcuate-path 57 definedby the opening 44 and 46, respectively.

The upper portion of each rocker arm 60 and 62 is mountedfor rotationalmovement to an upper support member 72 about the horizontalaxes 66 and68 (FIG. 2) respectively by means of upper trunnion pins 69 and 70 (FIG.4). The upper support member 72 comprises a pair of spaced parallelhorizontally disposed plates 74 and 76. The upper portions of therockerarms 60 and 62 are disposed between the inner opposing faces ofthe plates 74 and 76 with the trunnion pins 69 and 70 extendinghorizontally therethrough. It should be noted that the distance betweenthe horizontal axes 66 and-68 trunnion pins 40 and 42 respectively (oneonly being shown in FIG. 4) extend and which cooperate in a manner to bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter. The longitudinal axis of theupper support member 72 normally extends horizontally above thevertically disposed pivot pin 26, intersecting the vertical axis 18. Oneend of the upper support member 72 has an upright mounting member 84fixedly attached thereto- The upper portion of the mounting member 84carries a saw support 86 which is pivotably mounted to trunnion pin 88for up and down movement with respect to the plate 20. The saw support86 in turn carries a conventional circular electric power driven saw 90(FIG.

suspended from an overhead support line 100 so that the electrical cable98 will not interfere with the normal operation of the cutting apparatusand does not hinder the free movement of the saw carriage 16. The sawsupport 86 has a handle 101 which the operator grasps to pivot the saw90 toward the plate 20 and to impart a back and forth rocking motion tothe saw 90 in a manner which will be described in greater detailhereinafter. The saw 90 is normally biased in an upwardly direction awayfrom the plate 20 by means of a pair of springs 102 and 104 respectivelyattached at one end to upright rods 106 and 108 carried by the uppersupport member 72, and at the other spring ends by upright rods 110 and112 which are suitably attached to the saw support 86. It can thus beseen that by grasping the saw support handle 101 and pivoting the sawsupport 86 about the mounting member trunnion pin 88 in a downwardlydirection, the saw 90 will be brought into contact with a workpiece 114;and, upon releasing the handle 101, the springs 102 and 104 will causethe saw support 86 and thus the saw 90 to pivot in an upwardly directionout of the way of the operator who may then handle the workpiece 114 asdesired without interference from the saw 90.

The semi-circular plate 20 is provided with a radial scale 1 in the formof an indicia spaced at convenient angular intervals to indicate thedegree of angular position of the saw carriage 16 in relation to thelongitudinal center line of the workpiece 114. An indicator arm 116,attached to the pivot tube 28, extends across the semi-circular plateand provides a means for indicating the position of the saw carriage 16with respect to the semi-circular plate 20.

The cutting apparatus 10 is provided with a suitable workpiece support118 (FIG. 2) adjacent the pivot tube 28 to support the ends of thelongitudinal workpiece 1 14. The support 1 18 is attached to the backside of the plate 20 by any suitable fastening means, such as bywelding. A second workpiece support 120 (FIG. 1) is provided with asuitable clamping means 122 and is attached on the support frame 14either in a permanent fashion or in a manner which permits it to bemovable with respect to the rails 12 as the particular application mayrequire. The clamp may be of the quick-release swing type disclosed inmy aforementioned co-pending application and may be so designed as tohold one or more workpieces 114 as necessary to align the longitudinalaxis of the workpiece 114 with respect to the saw carriage 16 to permitcutting of the ends of the workpiece 114, as will be described ingreater detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a chute 124 provided at thesaw carriage 16 adjacent the point at which the saw 90 will engageworkpiece 1 14. The chute 124 is attached to the saw carriage l6 androtatable therewith so as to collect the sawed-off sections of theworkpiece 1 14 as the sections fall and direct them to a suitable scrapcontainer 126 positioned underneath the chute 124.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 for a detailed description of the mannerin which the saw 90 is maintained in a horizontal plane as the saw 90 isstroked back and forth with respect to the longitudinal axis of theworkpiece 114 so as to cut the same at a selected angle. Normally, whenthe saw carriage 16 is disposed in a neutral position, that is therocker arms 60 and 62 are in the straight vertical position as partiallyshown at 128 in phantom in FIG. 5, the connecting pins 56 are at thelowest point on the arcuate path 57 and the upper trunnion pins 40 and42 are proximate the upper portion of the elongated slots and 82. Acoil-type spring 130, (FIG. 1) disposed between one end of the uppersupport member 72 and the lower support member 22, exerts a biasingforce on the upper support member 72 when it is horizontally displacedin either direction from the neutral position 128, and thus, when thesaw support handle 101 is released by the operator, the spring willnormally bring the apparatus to its neutral position 128, which as canbe seen in FIG. 2 brings the saw away from the workpiece 1 l4 and out ofthe way of the operator.

Upon imparting a rocking horizontal motion of the upper support member72 by means of a manual push or pull on the saw support handle 101, bothof the rocker arms 60 and 62 are displaced from their neutral verticalposition 128 causing relative movement between the trunnion pins 40 and42 and the slots 80 and 82 and between the connecting pins 56 and theopenings 44 and 46. The co-action between these components assures avertical displacement of the rocker arms 60 and 62 in addition to thelateral rocking movement. This is due to the combined camming effectbetween the trunnion pins 40 and 42 and the slots 80 and 82 and therotational movement of the lower portion of the rocker arms 60 and 62about the horizontal axis 48 and 49. If, for example, the rocker arms 60and 62 are rocked toward the workpiece 114 or the left as viewed in FIG.4, the'rocker arms 60 and 62 assume an inclined position, while theslots 80 and 82 in the intermediate portion of each rocker arm rideupwardly along the curvature of the trunnion pins 40 and 42; while atthe same time, the lower portions of the rocker arms 60 and 62 rotateabout the horizontal axis 48 and 49 in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 4. This combined action forces the rocker arms 60 and 62to ride up vertically, maintaining the upper horizontal axes 66 and 68in the horizontal plane that they were disposed when the rocker arms 60and 62 were in their neutral vertical position 128. Thus, as the upperrocker arms 60 and 62 are moved from the neutral position 128 to aposition in which the rocker arms 60 and 62 are inclined toward theworkpiece 114, the upper support member 72 is maintained in the samehorizontal plane. Conversely, if the rocker arms 60 and 62 are movedaway from the workpiece 114 or to the right as viewed in FIG. 5 to theposition indicated at 132, the rocker arms 60 and 62 assume an inclinedposition wherein the lower portions thereof rotate in a clockwisedirection as viewed in FIG. 5 about the arcuate path 57 defined by slots44 and 46 forcing the intermediate slotted portions 80 and 82 of therocker arms 60 and 62 respectively to ride up vertically with respect tothe trunnion pins 40 and 42. The upper support member 72 is maintainedin a horizontal plane as it is shifted from a neutral position 128 to aposition spaced away from the workpiece 114. Thus, in either a rockingmotion to or away from the workpiece 114, there is a relative riseimparted to the rocker arms 60 and 62 due to the unique pivot and camaction between the slots 80 and 82 and trunnion pins 40 and 42 and theunique rotational movement of the rocker arms 60 and 62 with respect tothe horizontal axes 48 and 49. Any point on the upper support member 72during a rocking motion thereof will describe a straight horizontal linein contrast to a point on a conventional rocker arm construction havinga fixed pivot arrangement which obviously wouldfollow a curved path;that is, the point would describe" an arc having the fixed pivot pointas its center.

The rocker arm 60 carries an adjustable stop member 134 comprising asleeve member 136 suitably attached to the rocker arm 60 by any means,such as by welding as indicated at 138. The sleeve member 136 isdisposed at a right angle with respect to the rocker arm 60 and islocated approximately mid-way between the connecting pin and thetrunnion pin 69 above the slotted portion 80. The interior of the sleevemember 136-has a threaded surface (not shown) which accommodates athreaded adjusting screw 142. The outer portion 1440f the adjustingscrew 142 is adapted to abut the opposing side 146 of the rocker arm 62after a predetermined amount of rocking motion of the upper supportmember 72. As can be seen best in FIG. 2, the outer portion 144 of theadjusting screw 142 is spaced a selected distance from the opposing side146 of the rocker arm 62 when the rocker arms are in the neutralposition 128, that is ina substantially vertical position.

Ascan be seen in FIG. 4, when a leftward horizontal movement is impartedupon the upper support member 72, the rocker arms 60 and 62 are inclinedwith respect to their neutralvertical position 128; the amount ofinclination being limited by the abutment of the outer portion 144 oftheadjustable screw 142 with the lower position of the opposing side 146.Likewise, as can be best seen in FIGS, the, amount of inclination of therocker arms so and62 is limited by the abutment of the outer portion 144with the upper portion of the opposingside 146 when the uppersupportmember 72 has a horizontal motion imparted thereto which causes the sameto be shifted in a rightwardly direction. The amount of inclination ofthe rocker arms 60 and 62 with respect to their neutral position 128 maybe controlled by the amount of engagement of the adjusting screw 142with the internal threaded surface of the sleeve member 136. When theadjustable screw 142 is threaded outwardly with respect to the sleevemember 136, the amount of inclination of the rocker arms 60 and 62 fromthe neutral position is decreased and vice versa when the adjustablescrew 142 is threaded into sleeve member 136. Thus, the adjusting screw142 provides a simple means to control the amount of horizontal strokingmotion of the upper support member 72, and thus the amount of horizontalstroking motion of the power saw 90.

It can thus be seen that the present invention provides a structure foruse in machines adapted to translate pivotal motion to linear motion.

It can also be seen that a novel cutting apparatus has been describedwhich facilitates the cutting of an end of'a'workpiece, such as webs,diagonals, cords or the like, by providing a power saw which ispivotable about a vertical axis with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe workpiece and having-a unique travel mechanism incorporating thestructure. of the present invention which permits back and forth rockingmotion of a saw in a horizontal plane.

of the appended claims. a

What is claimed is as follows: 1. An apparatus for cutting anelongatedworkpiece comprising:

a longitudinal support frame;

a cutting station associated with said support frame;

means to support and align said elongated workpiece on said supportframe relative to said cutting station, said cutting station having afirst support member mounted for rotational movement about a verticalaxis;

a second support member vertically displaced from said first supportmember;

saw means carried by said second support member;

a pair of parallel horizontally spaced rocker arms;

means for connecting an upper portion of each of said rocker arms tosaidsecond support member for relative rotational movement about a pairof horizontal axes displaced by a predetermined amount; t

a pair of arm members;

means for connecting one end of each arm member to said firstsupportmember for relative rotational movement about a second pair ofhorizontal axes displaced by said predetermined amount;

means for respectively connectingthe other ends of one of said armmembersto a lower portion of one of said rocker arms for relativerotational movement, and for connecting the other end .of theother ofsaid arm members to a lower portion of the other of said rocker arms forrelative rotational movement, said lower portions of said rocker armsbeing adapted to rotate back and forth along an arcuate path defined bythe rotational movement of said arm members about said second pair ofhorizontal axes; and

means for pivotally mounting an intermediate portion of each of saidrocker arms to said first sup port member, whereby saidsecond supportmember is adapted for stroking movement in a horizontal plane defined bysaid first mentioned horizontal axes.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said first support memberincludes an upright portion, said rocker arms being disposed on one sidethereof, said arm members being rotatably mounted to the opposite sideof said upright portion; a pair of arcuate openings formed in saidupright portion along the arcuate path defined by the rotationalmovement of, said arm 5 member about said second pair of horizontalaxes; a

pair of connectingpins respectively disposed in said arcuate opening,one of said connecting pins connecting said one of said rocker arms toone of said arm members, the other of said pins connecting said otherrocker arm to said other arm member for relative rotational movement.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 including a pair of pivot pinscarried by said upright portion and vertically displaced respectivelyfrom said second horizontal axes; means forming a slot in each of saidrocker arms, said slots respectively engaging said pair of pivot pinsfor. causing said pivotal movement between said rocker arm and saidfirst support member.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the distance between saidsecond horizontal axes and the axis of rotation between the other end ofeach of said arm members and said rocker arms is equah'said arcuateopenings being circular and having arcuate axes, formed about a centerpoint coinciding with said second horizontal axes, said connecting pinsbeing so sized with respect to said arcuate openings that said pinsengage said openings in a rolling sliding engagement to support theweight of said rocker arms as said rocker arms rotate back and forthalong said arcuate path.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said connecting pins areadapted for rotational movement relative to both said rocker arms andsaid arm members.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said slot means areelongated slots formed at each of said rocker arms, the longitudinalaxis of each of said elongated slots lying in a plane defined by saidfust horizontal axis and the axis of rotation of said rocker arm andsaid arm member, said pivot pins being carried by said upright portionand being vertically displaced from said second horizontal axis by equalpredetermined amounts and being horizontally displaced by an amountequal to said first mentioned predetermined amount.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a stop member carriedby one of said rocker arms and extending toward the other of said rockerarms, the ex tended end of said stop member normally being displacedfrom said other rocker arm when said rocker arms are in a verticallydisposed position, said other rocker arm engaging said extended end ofsaid stop member to limit the amount of horizontal movement of saidsecond support member after said rocker arms have been displaced fromsaid vertical position by a predetermined amount.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein the extended end of saidstop member is adapted to be selectively positioned with respect to saidone rocker arm so as to vary the distance between said extended end andsaid other rocker arm amount the mount of horizontal movement of saidsupport rocker arms from said vertical position to an inclined positionis variably adjustable thereby permitting an adjustment of the amount ofhorizontal movement of said second support member.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said stop member isconnected to said one rocker arm at a substantially right angle.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said saw means iscarried at one end of said second support member and mounted forpivotable movement about a said workpiece at a selected angle withrespect to longitudinal axis of said workpiece; and means biasing saidsaw to said first non-operative position.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein 7 said biasing meanscomprises a spring, one end of which is carried by said first supportmember, the other end of which is carried by said second support member.

13. An apparatus for supporting a member for movement in a predeterminedplane, comprising:

a first support member;

a second support member displaced from said first support member;

a pair of parallel, spaced rocker arms;

means for connecting one end portion of each of said rocker arms to saidfirst support member for relative rotational movement about a pair ofparallel axes displaced by a predetermined amount;

means connecting an opposite end portion of each of said rocker arms tosaid second support member for relative rotational movement of saidopposite end portions of said rocker arms along an arcuate path, eacharcuate path defined by equal radii from a second pair of parallel axesdisposed on said second support member, said second pair of parallelaxes being displaced by said predetermined amount; and

means for pivotally mounting an intermediate portion of each of saidrocker arms to said second support member whereby one of said supportmembers is adapted for movement in said predetermined plane, saidpredetermined plane being parallel to another plane defined by one ofsaid pair of parallel axes.

14. An apparatus for supporting a member for back and forth strokingmovement in a horizontal plane, comprising:

a first support member;

a second support member vertically displaced beneath said first supportmember; a pair of parallel horizontally spaced rocker arms; means forconnecting an upper portion of each of said rocker arms to said firstsupport member for relative rotational movement about a pair ofhorizontal axes displaced by a predetermined amount; a pair of armmembers; means for connecting one end of each arm member to said secondsupport member for relative rotational movement about a second pair ofhorizontal axes displaced by said predetermined amount;

means respectively connecting the other ends of one of said arm membersto a lower portion of one of said rocker arms for relative rotationalmovement and for connecu'ng the other end for the other of said armmembers to a lower portion of the other of said rocker arms for relativerotational movement, said lower portions of said rocker arms beingadapted to rotate back and forth along an arcuate path defined by therotational movement of said arm members about said second pair ofhorizontal axes; and

means for pivotally mounting an intermediate portion of each of saidrocker arms to said second support member whereby said first supportmember is adapted for stroking movement in a horizontal 3,680,609 1 1plane defined by said first mentioned horizontal axes.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE CORRECTION Patent No. 368O,6O9 I Dated August 1972 lnvent fl Donald C. Menqe. I

It is certified that error eppears the above-identified patent I andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

IN THE s PECIFICATICN:

Column 4, line 30, change "portion 5" to --portionsline 59, change "to"to --on-- I IN THE CLAIMS:

Column 9, line 46, delete "amount the mount" and insert therefore--whereby the amount-- Signed and sealed "this 2nd day of January 1973,

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Pate FORM PO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-F I I UIS. GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE I959 03i6-

1. An apparatus for cutting an elongated workpiece comprising: alongitudinal support frame; a cutting station associated with saidsupport frame; means to support and align said elongated workpiece onsaid support frame relative to said cutting station, said cuttingstation having a first support member mounted for rotational movementabout a vertical axis; a second support member vertically displaced fromsaid first support member; saw means carried by said second supportmember; a pair of parallel horizontally spaced rocker arms; means forconnecting an upper portion of each of said rocker arms to said secondsupport member for relative rotational movement about a pair ofhorizontal axes displaced by a predetermined amount; a pair of armmembers; means for connecting one end of each arm member to said firstsupport member for relative rotational movement about a second pair ofhorizontal axes displaced by said predetermined amount; means forrespectively connecting the other ends of one of said arm members to alower portion of one of said rocker arms for relative rotationalmovement, and for connecting the other end of the other of said armmembers to a lower portion of the other of said rocker arms for relativerotational movement, said lower portions of said rocker arms beingadapted to rotate back and forth along an arcuate path defined by therotational movement of said arm members about said second pair ofhorizontal axes; and means for pivotally mounting an intermediateportion of each of said rocker arms to said first support member,whereby said second support member is adapted for stroking movement in ahorizontal plane defined by said first mentioned horizontal axes.
 2. Theapparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said first support memberincludes an upright portion, said rocker arms being disposed on one sidethereof, said arm members being rotatably mounted to the opposite sideof said upright portion; a pair of arcuate openings formed in saidupright portion along the arcuate path defined by the rotationalmovement of said arm member about said second pair of horizontal axes; apair of connecting pins respectively disposed in said arcuate opening,one of said connecting pins connecting said one of said rocker arms toone of said arm members, the other of said pins connecting said otherrocker arm to said other arm member for relative rotational movement. 3.The apparatus as defined in claim 2 including a pair of pivot pinscarried by said upright portion and vertically displaced respectivelyfrom said second horizontal axes; means forming a slot in each of saidrocker arms, said slots respectively engaging said pair of pivot pinsfor causing said pivotal movement between said rocker arm and said firstsupport member.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein thedistance between said second horizontal axes and the axis of rotationbetween the other end of each of said arm members and said rocker armsis equal; said arCuate openings being circular and having arcuate axes,formed about a center point coinciding with said second horizontal axes,said connecting pins being so sized with respect to said arcuateopenings that said pins engage said openings in a rolling slidingengagement to support the weight of said rocker arms as said rocker armsrotate back and forth along said arcuate path.
 5. The apparatus asdefined in claim 4 wherein said connecting pins are adapted forrotational movement relative to both said rocker arms and said armmembers.
 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said slot meansare elongated slots formed at each of said rocker arms, the longitudinalaxis of each of said elongated slots lying in a plane defined by saidfirst horizontal axis and the axis of rotation of said rocker arm andsaid arm member, said pivot pins being carried by said upright portionand being vertically displaced from said second horizontal axis by equalpredetermined amounts and being horizontally displaced by an amountequal to said first mentioned predetermined amount.
 7. The apparatus asdefined in claim 1 including a stop member carried by one of said rockerarms and extending toward the other of said rocker arms, the extendedend of said stop member normally being displaced from said other rockerarm when said rocker arms are in a vertically disposed position, saidother rocker arm engaging said extended end of said stop member to limitthe amount of horizontal movement of said second support member aftersaid rocker arms have been displaced from said vertical position by apredetermined amount.
 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein theextended end of said stop member is adapted to be selectively positionedwith respect to said one rocker arm so as to vary the distance betweensaid extended end and said other rocker arm amount the mount ofhorizontal movement of said support rocker arms from said verticalposition to an inclined position is variably adjustable therebypermitting an adjustment of the amount of horizontal movement of saidsecond support member.
 9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 whereinsaid stop member is connected to said one rocker arm at a substantiallyright angle.
 10. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said sawmeans is carried at one end of said second support member and mountedfor pivotable movement about a horizontal axis, whereby said saw meansmay be raised and lowered about said last mentioned horizontal axis withrespect to said second support member independent of the horizontalmovement of said second support member.
 11. The apparatus as defined inclaim 10 wherein said saw means is adapted to be pivoted from a firstnon-operative position to a second operative position, wherein said sawengages said workpiece for cutting said workpiece at a selected anglewith respect to longitudinal axis of said workpiece; and means biasingsaid saw to said first non-operative position.
 12. The apparatus asdefined in claim 11 wherein said biasing means comprises a spring, oneend of which is carried by said first support member, the other end ofwhich is carried by said second support member.
 13. An apparatus forsupporting a member for movement in a predetermined plane, comprising: afirst support member; a second support member displaced from said firstsupport member; a pair of parallel, spaced rocker arms; means forconnecting one end portion of each of said rocker arms to said firstsupport member for relative rotational movement about a pair of parallelaxes displaced by a predetermined amount; means connecting an oppositeend portion of each of said rocker arms to said second support memberfor relative rotational movement of said opposite end portions of saidrocker arms along an arcuate path, each arcuate path defined by equalradii from a second pair of parallel axes disposed on said secondsupport member, said second pair of parallel axes being displaced bysaid predetermined Amount; and means for pivotally mounting anintermediate portion of each of said rocker arms to said second supportmember whereby one of said support members is adapted for movement insaid predetermined plane, said predetermined plane being parallel toanother plane defined by one of said pair of parallel axes.
 14. Anapparatus for supporting a member for back and forth stroking movementin a horizontal plane, comprising: a first support member; a secondsupport member vertically displaced beneath said first support member; apair of parallel horizontally spaced rocker arms; means for connectingan upper portion of each of said rocker arms to said first supportmember for relative rotational movement about a pair of horizontal axesdisplaced by a predetermined amount; a pair of arm members; means forconnecting one end of each arm member to said second support member forrelative rotational movement about a second pair of horizontal axesdisplaced by said predetermined amount; means respectively connectingthe other ends of one of said arm members to a lower portion of one ofsaid rocker arms for relative rotational movement and for connecting theother end for the other of said arm members to a lower portion of theother of said rocker arms for relative rotational movement, said lowerportions of said rocker arms being adapted to rotate back and forthalong an arcuate path defined by the rotational movement of said armmembers about said second pair of horizontal axes; and means forpivotally mounting an intermediate portion of each of said rocker armsto said second support member whereby said first support member isadapted for stroking movement in a horizontal plane defined by saidfirst mentioned horizontal axes.